Category Archives: cemetaries

Day One. Destination: Germany

01 Sunday May 2011

Posted by in cemetaries, Germany, Lilly Gayle, OUT OF THE DARKNESS, romance, The Wild Rose Press, travel, vampires

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 My husband and I recently vacationed in Germany with a side trip to Amsterdam. We went to visit my daughter and her husband who’s stationed in Germany. We left on a Tuesday afternoon, flying Jet Blue out of RDU to JFK.

Flying over New York was not what I expected. For one thing, I thought to see tall buildings and crowded streets. I didn’t expect to see oceanfront property. Yes, I know New York is a coastal state and that Long Island and Manhattan are, well, islands. But the expanse of sand took me by surprise. So did the empty beaches. It was 80 degrees when we flew over. NC beaches are packed when the temps reach that high. But I could barely see anyone on these beaches. And the sand looked almost concrete. Is it paved like a sidewalk? I don’t know. But the view from the air was incredible.

Once we reached JFK, we rushed to our next gate to wait for our connecting flight on Swiss Air that would takes us to Zurich where we’d change planes again. Our experiences on both Jet Blue and Swiss air were great. Planes left on time. The flight attendants were friendly. And the view of New York at night was awe inspiring.

It was an overnight flight and I awoke in time to see Paris. Or not. The plane had dropped below its 37,000 feet cruising altitude but we were still too high to see much of anything. And it was cloudy. But I got a glimpse of the Swiss Alps as we entered Switzerland. Seeing the tops of those jagged, snow-capped mountains jutting high above the clouds was a sight I’ll never forget. It reminded me of that movie, Alive. Alive is based on the book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors and details the events surrounding the Uruaguay rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes mountains in 1972. A fellow writer posted this blog after hearing one of the survivors of the crash speak at a lecture. http://tonianderson.blogspot.com/2011/03/complaining-is-optional.html It will give you cold chills and make you think.

From Zurich, we caught a connecting flight to Nuremberg where my daughter picked us up. I’m in the process of writing the sequel to Out of the Darkness, my paranormal vampire romance. There’s a scene in the book set in a cemetary in Nuremberg. And so, my daughter took us to the cemetary so I could take some pictures. She thought it was creepy, but I love old cemetaries.

I find them incredibly peaceful and beautiful, not like modern cemetaries with the plastic grave markers or flat foot markers. I love the artistry of old grave yards. And there are always beautfiul statues.

And in Germany, there are many gorgeous old churches, some that date back to mideival times.
 

This particular cemetary had some new graves and some from WWII and older. My daughter said some victims of the plague were buried in mass graves on the church grounds. We did see some family graves and I wasn’t sure if they were headstones to mark the family plot, or if they were indeed, mass family graves.

This grave, for instance, had no other markers near it. And nothing that looked like additional plots. So, I can only guess about the Sebald family and how/when they died and were buried.

Visiting cemetaries may seem a bit macabre, but luckily for me, my husband enjoyes it too. He says walking through cemetaries makes him feel grateful he isn’t sprawled out in the dirt getting eaten by worms. Then, I remind him he wants to be cremated.

After spending a relaxing afternoon touring the cemetary, we walked through Nuremberg and discussed plans for our week long visit with my daughter and her husband. Nuremberg is a beautiful old city, but I think I like Beyreuth better.

Check back later in the week, when I post day two’s adventures in the beautiful city of Beyreuth, Germany.

Graveyards and Tombstones

17 Friday Sep 2010

Posted by in Beaufort, cemetaries, Fredericksburg, history, Lilly Gayle, NC, Old Burying Ground, OUT OF THE DARKNESS, parnaormal, The Wild Rose Press, vampire romance

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I love history, and the paranormal has always fascinated me. I suppose that’s why I write both paranormal and historical romance. And perhaps, that explains my love of cemeteries. Or maybe I like cemeteries because as I child, I attended a country church with an old cemetery on the grounds.

After Wednesday night services, my siblings, cousins and some of our friends would play hide and seek in the graveyard. Playing the game among the graves never struck us as disrespectful. Just spooky. And fun. And on Sundays we’d often walk through the graves reading the names.

My father’s sister is buried in that graveyard. She died when she was less than three months old. I remember looking at that concrete lamb on top of that tiny grave wondering what her life would have been like had she lived.

Would I have been blessed with more girl cousins? I sure could have used more! But that graveyard wasn’t the only one I visited as a child.

Growing up, my family used to visit Fredericksburg, Virginia quite often. I have family there and my parents used to take us to visit. While there, we’d take side trips to battlefields and grave yards or spend a day at Belvedere Beach. And sometimes, I think I loved the visits to the graveyards and historical sites as much as I enjoyed my time spent on the beach.

My great uncle’s home has a family plot in the front yard. The home now belongs to my cousin and I never visit John without going into the grave yard and taking a look around.

Lucky for me, I married a man who loves history as much as I do. And we often took our children to visit museums and historical sites when they were younger. Neither daughter fears graveyards, but I’m not sure they have the same love of them that I do.

But my love of spooky old graveyards must be a family trait. I recently spent an afternoon with my brother and his family visiting the Old Burying Ground in Beaufort, NC.

The graveyard is on Anne Street next to a church. There are Southern live oak trees that grow inside the cemetery gates. They’re old and gnarled and provide beauty and shade to the peaceful cemetery. Inside those iron gates beneath a canopy of leaves, rest the souls of soldiers from The Revolution to the Civil War. There are also graves of small children. Too many children.

Sadly, the infant mortality rate in the late 1800’s was 20 to 35% and it was probably closer to 40% in the 18th century.

Adults weren’t immune to the higher mortality rates either. A young minster buried in the church grave yard was only twenty-three at the time of his demise.

There is also the grave of a sea captain and a British Naval officer in the Old Burying Ground in Beaufort. The sea captain is buried beneath his cannon.

And the naval officer was buried standing up, forever saluting his monarch.

I spent over an hour in that cemetery with my brother and his family.And when I left, I realized I don’t need a monument commemorating my life when I die. I have family who will remember me and children who will take a part of me with them into the next generation.

Visiting graveyards reminds me that life goes on long after we leave this mortal plane.